The Aftermath
by Andi-Inda
Summary: Been reading stories on here for a while and thought I would give it a shot so here goes nothing, if this is well received I have another one written. It is about Smithy and based on the Gunrunner episodes of The Bill. Thanks for reading, love Andi x


Friday 25th July 2008

Resting down at his desk Sergeant Dale Smith inhaled a large amount of air, the last few weeks were all still a bit of a blur, he was proud of the work he had done and that him and the rest of the team had successfully taken a large amount of guns of the street but he had also in result killed a man, Kieran Wallace was by far not an innocent man but the guilt the Sergeant felt for him was weighing heavily on his mind. He watched the busy officers bustling past outside and letting out a sigh he made his way to the door and pushed it closed. Nine days had passed, he had been cleared of all charges but he still blamed himself, he had told himself it was natural to but if he had really done nothing wrong, why did the guilt remain. He glanced up as the door opened and his fellow sergeant walked inside, he offered him a slight smile but Callum was clearly stressed. "Sometimes I don't know why I bother-" he stressed "Our adoring public can be so god damn rude and yet we keep doing it-" he snatched a folder from the desk before storming from the room. The young sergeant remained sat at his desk, he had no doubt this would be a hard day. Glancing up as the door opened once again and rising to his feet he smiled to Gina, she had always been his rock, the person he turned to when there was no one else, she had kept him sane and was the one person he could truly rely on when he needed her. Gesturing for him to sit down he sunk back into his seat, resting onto his desk the Inspector leant towards him

"Callum is in a fowl mood" she whispered, Smithy had noticed this but he had too much on his mind to concern himself with Stones problems "How are you holding up?" he again gave no verbal response and just nodded to the woman. "Its today-"

"I know-" pausing he rose to his feet "Its hard Gina, knowing what I have put his family through. I killed him Gina-"

"No you were doing your job Smithy and don't let any one tell you different" placing her hand to his shoulder the woman smiled "You did what any officer would have done in your position"

"He died because of me-"

"He died because he was a criminal Smithy"

"I should of done more, I should of talked him round-"

"And got yourself killed in the process, because I for one am glad it is his funeral today and not yours-"

"He was twenty five-" interrupting the woman "He didn't deserve to die, not in the street like that, he was misunderstood-"

"He was bad Smithy, through and through"

"Maybe"

"Are you going?"

"I don't think I would be very welcome, do you?"

"Ok, well my offer for time off still stands Sergeant Smith, nobody is expecting you to be a hero-"

"I am far from that Ma'am".

Keeping his distance he watched as the family grieved, his mother, his grandparents, his friends. Even Darren Cutler was there, handcuffed to two men. Smithy hadn't attended the service, he had arrived just as the service was moving from the church to the graveyard, it was difficult to watch, he still remembered Kerry's funeral, the devastation it caused and it wasn't long ago he had watched Emma Keane in this situation, the devastation people go through seeing a loved one buried. The service carried on for fifteen or so minutes before the family were led away, despite it being summer the rain was hammering down, Smithy pulled his hood up before heading towards the grave. Placing the bottle of beer to the grave and smiling to himself he spoke "I thought you would appreciate this more than flowers-" he glanced over his shoulder before sinking onto the grass next to the heap of mud and flowers. "I never wanted you to get hurt Kieran. I had a job to do, I had to protect the public-" staring at the grave Smithy let out a sigh "I never meant to kill you. I am going to have a few drinks for you tonight, I know we were never really mates, it was all just a front, I was never the person you thought I was and I am sorry for that but then I was just doing my job". Wiping the tears forming in his eyes "I was doing my job and we had some good times those few weeks, we even had a laugh at some points, it was Cutler and Gatting we wanted so many people could of ended up dead because of them-". Rising to his feet he made his way from the grave, glancing briefly back at the grave. Kieran was young and naïve when he died and Smithy would of prevented it if he had the opportunity but sometimes things don't turn out the way they should.

Gulping back another mouthful of his beer, he waived the barmen over and ordered himself another drink. Once he had handed over his money he headed over to a table in a quiet corner of the pub and sat down by himself. He had spent his life fighting his demons and here he was with another one to mule over. Life was a bitch to him and it always had been, it was payback for all the bad things he had done in the past, for every time he had hurt someone, for every time he had cheated a woman. Sipping back another mouthful of his beer he felt the weight of what he had done more so now than ever, he had acted within the lines of his job but he had killed a man, his thoughts had continued to go back and forth. The chair at his table moved and glancing up he smiled to the blonde woman as she rested down in front of him "Hey, how are you doing Smithy?" she asked and smiling he watched her drink a sip of her own beer

"Not great" he replied before gulping some more of his own beer "How am I meant to get over this, I have shot people before you know, in the army, CO19 but this it was different Stevie, he was my friend-"

"No Smithy, he was a criminal and you did your duty-"

"I killed a man, in cold blood"

"No, you didn't set out to kill him, you are not a murderer-"

"What am I then?"

"You are the man who saved my life and I will never forget that Serge-"

"You are the only good thing to come out of what happened, promise me we will always be friends, nothing will ever come between us"

"I promise, come here" she pulled him into a hug and sighed "You are amazing and don't you ever forget it Dale Smith".


End file.
